🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.